New charges in Anderson saga demand answers

But they are explosive allegations. And the simmering saga of what transpired in an accident involving Asheville Police Chief William Anderson's son back in March, a saga that has been long on questions and short on answers, is now on full boil.

On Tuesday morning, Lt. William Wilke, a 13-year veteran of the APD, held a press conference at the office of his lawyer, George Hyler, and read a short statement regarding the events on the day of the accident and what transpired afterward. Wilke says Chief Anderson coerced him to make false statements regarding the accident and alleges that City Manager Gary Jackson may have been involved in covering up the facts of the incident.

Chad Anderson was driving his father's car the night of March 9 on Montford Avenue when it struck a concrete median. Chad Anderson has been charged with two felonies in the case; indictments state he gave false statements to police and left the scene of the accident.

In his statement Tuesday, Wilke said Chief Anderson and Capt. Stony Gonce leaned on him to "submit to a set of facts and circumstances regarding the accident involving his son that were clearly false and misleading." Wilke stated he filed a formal complaint regarding the incident with the office of City Manager Gary Jackson, but that no action has been forthcoming.

Serious stuff.

And there's worse.

On March 13, Wilke said, he met with Jackson and Assistant City Manager Jeff Richardson "to express my deepest concerns of what I knew to be false and misleading information given by the chief of police to the Asheville Citizen-Times the previous day. They responded by asking me to wait until the SBI investigation was complete." The following day, Wilke said, he provided Capt. Gonce with documents regarding the wreck. On the afternoon of the same day, Wilke said he was removed from an interview with the State Bureau of Investigation to speak with Gonce and Chief Anderson. "While there, I was coerced and expected to submit to a set of facts and circumstance regarding the accident involving his son that were clearly false and misleading. I refused to submit to this coercion." On March 15, Wilke said, he provided a statement with the details of meeting to the SBI.

Then, on June 7, Wilke says he retrieved a copy of the documents he'd provided to Capt. Gonce on March 14 and found they were incomplete.

"Clearly missing was Capt. Gonce's own statement, which I believe to contain contradictory information to that which I provided him on the morning of March 9 from the accident scene. As the scene commander, I have asked that the city manager direct or produce a copy of Capt. Gonce's statement for the case file. He was confirmed receipt of that requires, yet has not provided it."

Again, at this point these are allegations coming from one source. But Wilke says "two other high-ranking officers within the Police Department are prepared to provide sworn statements and documented evidence indicating a pattern of ongoing behavior that avoids accountability, generates false and misleading information, and has severely injured morale within the rank and file of the Asheville Police Department."

It would appear other shoes are waiting to be dropped.

The rumor mill is now officially open for business, and answers to questions that have been lingering - who, if he exists, is "Dianty" (Dianty, the mysterious figure Chad Anderson claims was driving the car the night of the accident); did the chief skirt his official role and become a parent trying to shield his child from harm; what to make of the firearm in the car - will now be joined by a thousand others.

And a city already beset with plenty of troubles is now going to have to expend a great deal of time and energy dealing with these charges.

Answers and transparency are the quickest and most effective response.